Blackhawks acquire Andre Burakovsky from Kraken in exchange for fellow forward Joe Veleno

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken on Saturday in exchange for fellow forward Joe Veleno.

Chicago also placed defenseman T.J. Brodie on unconditional waivers for purposes of buying out his contract.

Burakovsky, 30, had 10 goals and 27 assists in 79 games with Seattle last season. A Stanley Cup champion with Washington in 2018 and Colorado in 2022, he has 153 goals and 234 assists in 696 regular-season games over 11 NHL seasons.

The acquisition of Burakovsky gives Chicago some additional size and scoring, and the trade creates more flexibility for Seattle with the salary cap.

The 6-foot-3 Burakovsky was selected by Washington with the No. 23 pick in the 2013 draft. He signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with Seattle in July 2022.

Veleno, 25, was traded from Detroit to Chicago in March. He finished with eight goals and nine assists in 74 games last season.

The 6-1 Veleno has 38 goals and 43 assists in 306 career regular-season games. He has a cap hit of $2.275 million for next season in the final year of his contract.

Brodie, 35, agreed to a $7.5 million, two-year contract with Chicago last summer. He had two goals and eight assists in 54 games last season.

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